### Reader’s Letter to The Guardian, 9th September 2024 ###
* Key Players: Fiona Harvey, Ashifa Kassam, Katja Hoyer, Philip Oltermann, Hanno Hauenstein, James Hawes *
Dear Editor,
As the dust settles on the regional elections in Eastern Germany, I stumbled upon a report (in Aljazeera, link below) stating that Germany is considering deporting migrants to the facilities built in Rwanda by the UK. That doesn’t surprise me because, earlier this year the German foreign minister visited Rwanda to discuss “cooperation” (including access to critical minerals in the region such as coltan from war-zones in Congo).
I have been following reports (including many in The Guardian) which criticise the racism of the far-right AfD. But now, with the “Rwanda-idea” and with the cranking up of anti-migrant policies, it seems that the incumbent government (and the main opposition) are beating the AfD at their own game. Not forgetting that the EU hands over countless millions to north-African dictators for them to “keep the migrants at bay”.
Regarding the motivation of people to vote for the AfD, I happened to fall into conversation with a commuter (about 55 years old) and was intrigued to find that she had voted “mainstream” only with great reluctance because she felt “ignored and discounted” by the main parties. This indicates that the AfD’s landslide may further increase.
On the topic of “ignoring the people”, here in Cologne we have a prime example as the city has decided to close down the wholesale market. Before building a new one! (link below) This means that small-traders (e.g. restaurants and local markets) and small-growers will have nowhere to source or to sell their goods. This is great news for corporate interests but the death-knell for small, local business … and is a slap in the face for the environment.
In view of this, we should not be surprised that voters and drifting off to parties who appear to take them seriously.
PS: And now Cologne has clocked up 1,3 billion Euros renovating the opera-house: Grotesquely over budget and beyond the comprehension of the public.
Yours,
Alan Mitcham
Aljazeera report on Rwanda: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/7/german-official-says-rwanda-deportation-plan-using-uk-facilities-considered
Closing of the Grossmarkt: https://www.ksta.de/koeln/koeln-grossmarkt-wird-2025-aufgeloest-haendler-ohne-gesicherte-zukunft-855643
Leave a Reply